The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1887-02-25
BATTLE AMONG ANTS
..m c or AN INTERESTING FIGHT
uslcH LASTED FIVE HOURS.


.,., s,,rop,er n year ago a swarm Of black
!" f,,r,,ica PennSylvanical built their nests
a"~ the ceiling and the roof Of a shed
.,,. dwelling, IN the suburbs Of Philadel-
ho A. distance Of few hundred feet
pm .ho shed secopd co%ny Of the same
ITO" b,d also built home in n sheltered
Roth nests were unusually populous
pm" between ants Of different species
-, FOR the purpose Of capturing slaves,
io"e t.,on often described. But on a bright
-, INC in August was witness OF a fight
s..ueen those two colonies Of the same
- which could have been waged for no
~ rurpose, and which gave tho occasion
80 --oater display Of forethought on the
- fbe cOmbatants chan is usually con-
f,.5 sren 20 the ant The nest in the roof
,bo one attacked. The only approach 70
-, the ground was by post and plas-
- ,,.u about six feet high A smooth
49, n,or fitted closely against the wall and
f..,5 vas raised above the ground by
.., This floor was the scene of the
my repeated study of these nests and
-..irbabitants during the summer months
-. email workers were the only ones who
- -, - labor They did all the foraging,
.,5 II vas unusual TO see one of the larger
80 outside Of the entrance Of the nest,
.rt,.b however, they faithfully guarded.
1-ts conduct Of the latter so much more
-i-s.ry agreed with that Of the soldier ants of
t;-i~od spoces that in speaking of them in
49,. Manor I shall call them soldiers because
tpov certainly performed all the duties of a
Lilo and. so far as could be seen, did moth
ing else.
Iyban saw them on the morning Of the
h.,tlo both the small workers and the large
o,os or soldiers. were out on the wall, post
orJ eoor in great numbers. There was no
e,bt then gong on. A strong force Of sol
1,ers held every approach at the foot of the
,,,st and wall. smaller bodies were formed in
regular lines half way up the post, and large,
outstanding groups were stationed at close
distances here and there upon the floor and
step. and running up and down the post sup
porting the nest.
While ! stood wondering at the unusual
connection / saw at the distance of a few
f.at host Of small workers, closely followed
Nv a crest horde Of soldiers, streaming along
afenco from the other distant nest They
must have numbered thousands. Ina very
sbort time these hostile workers had descended
tine fence 70 the ground, swarmed up the step
10 the door and poured in crowds upon the
defensive scouts The antagonists rushed
mon each other, and with their strong jaws
clt Of here a leg and there an antenna, and
sometimes severed the body Of an opponent
alta blow. The foremost soldiers of the de-
fen,.ye party came to the rescue, and the
swarm Of hostile workers were driven back
toward the step.
But by this time the soldiers Of the attack
ing party had reached the floor moving de-
uberateIy onward in a dense black mass,
crushing their smaller foes as they advanced.
Ina few moments the small workers were
either all killed or retired from tho front.
Then the battle between the soldiers Of the
opposing forces began IN earnest. Hating a
moment TN their ranks were close and com
pact though by no means regular, the In
yaders advanced 10 the attack III a dense
mas seeming to completely cover the floor
over which they moved In this close array
they met the defenders, whom they greatly
outnumbered. They were received, however,
with courage as great as their own, and
their ranks were quickly broken up and
thrown into apparent disorder.
After the general charge had been thus
made and the cOmbatants were mixed IN an
undistngus liable crowd, single champions
were seen rushing around the floor seeking a
Zoe When two of these champions APP
preached each other a mutual examination
with the ends of their antenne now seemed
Necessary TO tell foe from friend. Many such
meetings We're friendly, and after the saluta-
ton both would rush away at full speed.
But when, by tho delicate test Of feeling or
whatever serves them TO thus distinguish,
each had found an enemy, they rushed upon
one another with the utmost rage, clinched
both with feet and jaws, and doubling them
selves up. rolled over the floor, biting and
tearing each other, entirely undisturbed in
their deadly work by being lifted up into the
air with pair Of forceps AT one time the
door was nearly black with these rolling com
batants
As the battle progressed the superior mum
brs Of the invaders drove the defenders of
their home slowly backward to the foot of
.he post Then O number of the small
workers, who had been stationed upon the
post, ran rapidly up to the nest In mo-
nent a fresh army of soldiers, numbering
many hundreds, rushed from the nest, and,
descending the post, passed the guards at the
base and fell upon the victorious foe, driving
Chem back slowly, but steadily, to the edge OF
.he step The guards at the Ease of the post
lid not appear o. leave their station to engage
the general fight, and only took part in 1t
At all when the attacking Soldiers tried to pass
hem 10 reach the nest
The fight lasted about five hours, and ended
Do total rOut OF the attacking party.
Toward the close the wounded, doubtless OF
.ae invading party, were seen dragging them
eyes of the field, generally carrying with
Them some enemy which had fastened upon
Them by his strong jaws III a death embrace.
In many cases these attached foemen were
found % consist only of pair of jaws and
head all the rest Of the body having been
Torn away in the fight. With bulldog tenac-
NY Tho head held on firmly, resisting all ef
.oris Of the wounded ants TO remove it. To
.esi The force Of his grip OF the jaws touched
come Of fIa ttp,vc,,pda1 coldierC with "A pair